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The World Didn’t End, What’s Next?

We made it! We are still here! I wasn’t really worried, but it did cross my mind. What a day I had. We took an early flight from New York to Miami during a heavy downpour and strong winds. The take off was like being in a spaceship shooting for the stars. Once we got here it was rush, rush to get things done for the holidays.

Every year at this time I make New Year’s resolutions I never keep. I promised myself that if the world didn’t end I would walk at least 10,000 steps a day, (you start losing weight at 12,500 steps according to my friend, Dr. Howard Stark), I would eat more protein and less junk, and try to sleep longer each night. I average four or five hours because my mind is on overtime.

For the last year, I have been using FitBit, a Bluetooth pedometer which has really made me conscious of how much I walk each day. I average 7,000 steps, which is not the desired amount, but much better than what I used to do.

The gadgets for monitoring wellness have been increasing significantly since the advent of Bluetooth. It is really wonderful to have a gizmo that tallies up many of your daily activities and then keeps records of them on a dedicated application.

Ed Baig, a USA Today tech reporter, really got serious about his wellbeing a few years ago. He lost a lot of weight and has a frequent exercise routine. I know him for 20 years and I have to say he looks younger and more energized than ever before. That is why I am reporting on a device he highlighted today that he says can help us change many of our bad habits. It’s called the Jawbone’s Up band, It costs $100 and can help you live a more healthful life.

The device is a bracelet that works in combination with an app on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. It motivates you to break those unhealthy habits.

The company is known for producing popular wireless Bluetooth headsets and Jambox portable electronic speakers.

Up has a sturdy steel frame encased in a flexible hard rubber wristband. Built-in motion sensors can track the steps you’ve taken, distance traveled, pace, calories burned, and the hours you were in a deep or light state of slumber. The band comes in small, medium and large and multiple colors. It works in tandem with the free companion iOS app, which you must download from Apple’s iTunes Store. Jawbone says an Android version is coming.

To sync the device to the Jawbone app, lift off the cap at one end of the band which reveals a mini-jack that plugs into the headset jack of your mobile device. Then open the app, tap a sync icon and wait a few seconds for the process to be completed.

I am not saying this is the ultimate wellness device, but I have heard other’s rave about it. It is worth a try and may help us keep the promise we made to ourselves for the New Year.